Game apparatus



' May 12, 1925.

C. D. MCCARRON GAME APPARATUS Filed June FLP-f atroz new Patentedv May 12, 1925.

UNITED STATES CYRUS I). MCCARRON, OF 'LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

` GAME APPARATUS.

Application led June 7,

To aZZ whom it may concern.' f

Be it known that I, CYRUs D. McCARRoN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles.I in the county ofLos Angeles -and State of California, have invented a new and useful Game Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

T his invention relates to a game apparatus, and the general object of the invention is to produce a simple apparatus of this kind which will enable two players to play a game simulating the game of foot ball. A further object of thev invention is to provide the apparatus with means whereby the position of' the ball on the field 'or board may be readily indicated and changed at will in the progress of the game, and in which the yards to be gained by the player having the ball in play can be readily indicated and changed to correspond with the progress of the game. A further. object of the invention is to provide means for determining by chance or luck the gains or losses which the players receive in playing the game, and in this operation to simulate the different plays which occur in actually playing the game of foot ball.

The invention consists in the novel parts and combination of parts to be described hereinafter, all of which contribute to'produce an elncient gam'e apparatus.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is described in the following specification, while the broad scopel of the invention is pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawin'g' Figure 1 is a plan of a game board embodying features of my invention.

Figure 2 is a cross-section through the board and representing removably mountedv pins carried by the board for indicating the iiiosition of the foot ball and for indicating the yards to be gained by the dierent This section is taken on the line 2 et Figure 1.

'ures 3 to 2O illustrate a plurality of i'viffiual cards which may be used to con- L' ui' e a pack which I employ in determinlosses of' the players in 2 n4:uns or the game.

gaine apparatus includes a game which is of velongated rectangular l i i Affitti l torni, the upper face of which is supposed to represent a foot ball field, and to that end provided with a plurality' of transverse flirisions or division lines indicated gener- 1923. Serial No. 643,896.

ally by the reference numeral 2. These division lines are supposed to be five yards apart and are of different distinctive character froineaeh other, that is to say, in the present instance they are of three colors:`

red, black and green. The red lines are indicated bythe division lines 2a; the black f Ylines are indicated by the division lines .2",

and the green lines are indicated by the lines 2C. Throughout the length ofthe field or board, the black and green lines alternate, generally, that is-to say, the black lines are ten yards apart, andthe green lines are also ten yards apart, except that the -yard lines are indicated by special line such as a red line 2a. The red line also indicates the middle line of the field and also the back line or goal line at each end of the field I provide a movable member 3 which represents the foot ball, and the board is provided with means extending longitudinally on it for supporting thisfoot ball at aV plurality of different positions along the length of the field, In order to accomplish this, the board isprovided with a centrally disposed row of openings or pin-ho1es4. These pin-holes are disposed an equaldistance apart, and there are four of them between each adjacent pair of lines or divisions 2, in each line so that the distance between two adjacent pin-holes represents a yard.

A player is supposed to sit at each end of the board. Corresponding to each player, the board is provided with means for marking or indicating the progress of the ball along the lield. The means or'this purpose consists of a second row 5 of pin open-V ings disposed alongv one edge of the board and arranged in the same .manner as the pin-holes On the opposite edge of the board a third row 6 of pin-holes is provided. Thev pin'- holes of these rows 5 and 6 begin at the goal line at its corresponding end of the field and extend inwardly, terminatin at the middle line 7 vof the field or boar i Corresponding to each of the rows 5 and 6, i

I provide a marker, said marker being designated by the numerals 8 and 9 respectively. These markers are small pins, which, it desired, may be similar to the foot ball pin 3. Like the foot ball pin 3, they are constructed so that they can be removably mounted in any one of the pin-holes of the row'to which they correspond.

. chance the amount of movement which is to.

be given to the foot ball 3 in the different plays. Any suitable means or chancedevice may be employed for this purpose,

but I prefer to employ means in the form` of a pack of cards, the individual cards ofv which bear different legends indicating different foot ball plays which occur in actually playing the game, and each o these cards bears a legend or directionsin ,icating the amount of gain or loss to the player making the cut; for example, f Gain l0 yards or Lose 8yards. These cards are double-ended and bear different numbers and distinctive characters; for example, some of the cards bear the distinctive letters A, K, J, Q, there is also a double-A card marked AA, which has a distinctive value or character when cut by a player. The legends on the cards, fas suggested above, indicate different foot ball plays; for example, Forward pass completed Split buck thru guard and tackle Half-back thru tackle Line smash Recover ownlfumble.

In playing the game, the 4players sit at opposite ends of the board, and the cards are placed together as an ordinary pack of cards, and are then shuffled and placed face down on the board or table. The players toss a coin to determine which player is supposedY to kick otl'. The player who wins the toss and chooses to kick off then inserts the foot ball pin 3 on the opponents 10-yard line. The player having the ball in his territory then cuts the pack or deck of cards an exhibits rto thev other player the card which he has cut. This card indlcates by its le end the character of play which is suppose to occur at that point in the game, and also indicates the gain which results from the cut. However, inV making this particular out, it is immaterialwhether' the' cut card bears a legend indicating a gain or a loss; in either case, the yards in dicated on the cut cardare considered to be a gain. For example, if the card cut carries the legend Lose 8 yards, the cutting player would actually be yaccorded a. gain of 8 yards, for the ball, and the pin 3 would then be advanced by him 8 yards from his 10-yard line. Having advanced thel foot ball pin to the'proper pin-hole, the player having the ball cutsv again. r'The player who is supposed to have. the ball 1n his possession must. mark by means of h1s mark1ng pin 8 or 9 the gain in yards which he must make in four downs. A player' can punt whenever he wishes, simply by moving the ball 30 yards forward, but in case this is done, the adversary y can run the ball back in the same manner as in the kick-olf n referred to above.

If the ball is inside of opponent/S .3G-yard line, the gain of a punt is limited to 20 yards.

At any time, if a player advances the ball to a point within the QO-yard line (red line on board), of his adversary, he can, if he chooses, state, before cutting the ack of cards, whether or not he will try or first down or a place-kick or a drop lkick. If he calls a place-kick or a drop-kickand then cuts any card with the following initial in its corner, the

kick is complete for three. points: (AA)-K-Q-JA. If the card he cuts indicates any other play except a fumble, the opponent then gets the ball on the 20-yard line or recovers the fumble in accordance with the directions on the card. A conversion may be made after a touch-V down. In order to do this, the ball pin 3 is placed on the Lt-yard line. The player having the ball then cuts the lpack. to determine Whether he shall be accorded one more point. p

The double-A card (AA card) has a different value depending upon when it is cut; for example, the first two times this card is cut, the gain is 25 yards for the player cutting this card; if a player cuts to this card three times, the third time he cuts it he will be given a gain of 50 yards. If the player should be so fortunate as to cut the chance to run it back or fumble, depend-'-V ing on the character of the legend on the next card that he cuts. If a player is in possession of the ball on his opponents 35-yard line and the ball is intercepted, the opponent then gets the ball on his Q5-yard line, and if he then cuts a card with Lose 5 on. it, he is given a gain of five yards instead of a loss, and the ball is put in play on his 3 O-yard line. If the card N o. 3 is cut, carrying the legend Fumble, lose ball, the opponent recovers the ball five yards in the rear 'of where the play started, and also has the chance to advance kplaying foot ball, a board representing a foot ball ield and having a plurality of transverse division lines, said lines being alternately in different colors, and representing 5-yard lines, said board having a row ot pin-holes extending longitudinally thereon, a pin representing the foot ball constructed so as to be removably mounted in any one of the pin-holes, a second row of pin-holes extending along one edge of the board at one side oi' the same, a third row of pin-holes extending along the edge of the board from its other end, a pin corresponding to each of the last named rows of pin-holes and constructed so as to be removably mounted in the pin-holes for indicating yards which must be gained by the player having the ball in play.

2. ln a game apparatus for playing foot ball". a board representing a foot-ball field and having a plurality of transverse divisions representing/ 5-yard lines, said board having a row of pin-holes on the field eX- tending longitudinally thereon, a pin representing the foot ball and constructed so as to be removably mounted in any one of the pin-holes, a second row of pin-holes eX- tending along one edge of the board from one end and terminating at the middle of the board, a marker corresponding to the last named row of holes and constructed to be removably mounted in the holes to indicate yards to be gained by the player at the adjacent end of the board, who has the ball in play, a third row of pin-holes located on the opposite edge of the board and extending lrom the opposite end and terminating at the middle of the board, a marker corresponding to the last named row of pin-holes and constructed to be removably mounted in-the holes to indicate yards to be gained by the player at that eilid of the board when he has the ball in p ay- 3. In av game apparatus for playing foot-ball, a board representing a foot-ball field and having a plurality ot' transverse division lines representing live-yard lines, said board having a row of pin-holes extending longitudinally thereon along the side of the board, a row ot' pin-holes extending longitudinally of the board on the ield, a pin representing a foot-ball constructed so as to be removably mounted in any one of the last named pin-holes, a marker pin Jf'or the first named row of pinholes to indicate yards to be gained, a pack of cards bearing legends and indicating gains or losses of ground by the players when they cut the pack, certain of said cards having a distingushing mark thereon operating to give the same a special significance when cut a succession of times.

Signed at Los Angeles, California, 31st day ot' May, 1923.

CYRUS D. MGCARRON.

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